Cosmic Sound (Based on Mandukya Upanishad) by Sri Prabhuji

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Cosmic Sound
Discourses by Sadguru Prabhuji
On
Mandukya Upanishad
(May-June 2012)
Transcribed and Edited by Atmajyothis
Published By
Light of the Self Foundation Publication
Price: Rs 150

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Contents
Preface..................................................................................................................4
Introduction........................................................................................................5
Omkara ............................................................................................................. 10
The Indivisible Self ......................................................................................... 15
The Waking State ............................................................................................ 18
The Dream State ............................................................................................. 22
The Deep sleep State...................................................................................... 28
Supreme Consciousness................................................................................. 36
Turiya, the fourth state................................................................................... 42
Summary........................................................................................................... 48
Benefits of Understanding – Phala Shruthi ................................................ 53
Glossary ............................................................................................................ 65

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Preface
Mandukya Upanishad is a very short Upanishad with twelve shlokas.
Even though the Upanishad is short, it is packed with the spiritual
wisdom of the highest order. It is said that, just Mandukya Upanishad
alone is sufficient for attaining liberation – Jeevan Mukti.
Mandukya Upanishad expounds the profound philosophy of oneness of
the individual self (Jiva) with the Supreme Reality (Brahman) in a very
lucid manner. The beauty of the Upanishad is that it deals with great
philosophical Truths by taking us through the different states of
consciousness we go through in our day to day life – waking, dreaming
and deep sleep and points out the unchanging transcendental reality –
the witness behind the ordinary states of consciousness. In this way, the
Upanishad takes the spiritual aspirant from known states of
consciousness to supreme reality.
Mandukya Upanishad also guides us on the process of contemplation of
the primordial sound “Omkar” representing the immanent and
transcendental reality.
We are grateful to the Rishi of Mandukya Upanishad and all the great
Acharyas who have written commentary on the Upanishad for giving us
the cream of spiritual wisdom in the form of Mandukya Upanishad.
I am grateful to all Atmajyothis, Divine light of the Self for participating
in the Rishi Yajna of Mandukya Upanishad and for the labour of love,
selfless service in transcribing, editing and publishing the contemplation
on the Upanishad teachings.
Bangalore
Guru Purnima 2014

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Introduction
It is indeed a fortunate coincidence that under the auspices of Shri
Shankara Jayanti we are commencing our study of Mandukya Upanishad.
Though a very small text with only twelve aphorisms, it is one of the
greatest scripture that delivers the spiritual essence and highest truth.
This text was dearest to Shri Shankaracharya. He says that study and
contemplating on this Upanishad alone is sufficient for liberation. In his
commentary of this text, he explains the principles of Advaita (Non-
duality) philosophy referring to the statement (Mahavakya): Ayamatma
Brahma.
Around 7th century or later part of 6th
century, there was a great
Acharya called Shri. Goudapadacharya, who was Shri Shankaracharya’s
grand guru. I consider it a great honour to be a descendant of his
lineage. He was considered a living Triveni Sangama - Mandukya union of
three streams of wisdom that included Buddhism, Vedanta Tattva and
Kashmiri Shaivism. He wrote “Mandukya Karika” which is a
commentary on Upanishad that outlines Advaita principles. He taught
Mandukya Karika and Vedanta to his disciple Shri Govindapadacharya
who was Shri Shankaracharya’s guru.
The Advaita principle was not discovered by these Acharyas but is an
ancient principle and Vedantic truth which existed since Vedic times.
These Acharyas structured, simplified and explained Advaita principle so
that a common man could understand and realize the truths therein.
Mandukya Upanishad has a great Acharya Parampara or lineage of
Enlightened Masters from the Rishis (great Masters) of yesteryears to
current day Masters.
Unlike other Upanishads where spiritual truth is outlined in the
backdrop of seeker and master stories, like that of Nachiketa or
Shwethaketu, this great text expounds the truth directly. It does not talk
about trust or belief in God; rather addresses one’s day to day
experience of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and explains the truth
based on an experience which is common to all. Thanks to its universal
nature, anybody anywhere in the world can appreciate the beauty and
the essence of this Upanishad. On the lighter side, since it comprises of
only twelve shlokas, it is apt for modern day culture of instant
gratification and can be called ‘Self-realization in twelve minutes’.

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In ancient India, seers and/or rishis were named after their realization. It
was Sage Mandukya’s realization that just as the frog croaks, incessantly,
irrespective of the presence or absence of listeners, similarly the
universal primordial sound Omkara rings and reverberates throughout
the Universe continuously. Primarily, this Upanishad is about this
fundamental primordial Omkara, which is the bridge from the known to
unknown. For example, we know the three states of waking, dreaming
and deep sleep, but do not know about the fourth state of Samadhi or
Turiya and Parabrahma beyond Turiya. Through the explanation of the
Omkara, this Upanishad bridges the gap between the known and the
unknown states of consciousness. It explains Omkara Upasana or the
method of contemplating on Omkara.
Upasana
Upasana is that which uplifts a seeker closer to the Highest Truth. Upa –
means ‘near’, Asana - means ‘to sit’ and focus the mind on the Higher
Truth.
One might now wonder about the need to contemplate on Omkara. The
whole world is a reflection in the mind. Even though we experience the
whole world in the mind, the mind itself is a very minute aspect of
Consciousness. Then, is it possible for this finite mind to understand the
infinite Consciousness? The Consciousness or Atma is beyond the ability
of the mind to comprehend!
The following abstract from an ancient anecdote of the frog in the well
will help us to understand about the limitations of the mind.
There was a frog in a well. One day a bird sat on the well and began to
sing.
The frog asked, “What are you singing about?”
The bird replied, “I am singing about the ocean.”
The frog asked, “What is ocean?”
The bird said, “Ocean is very big and is full of water.”
The frog showed its little hands to the bird and asked, “is it this much
water?’
The bird said, “No, much more.”
The frog then asked, “Is it more than this well?”
The bird laughed and said, “Yes, more, much more than the well.”
The frog then said to the bird, “You are a liar!”

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This human mind is like a frog in the well! It cannot understand the
truth however; truth has to be understood through this finite limited
mind and senses!
manayeva karanam manushayaanaam bandha mokshayo. It is one of the
strangest paradox that mind is the cause of bondage and liberation.
When the mind is dominated and polluted by Rajoguna and Tamoguna,
it leads one to bondage and when it is pure and predominantly Sattvik it
leads to liberation. The mind which is filled with Rajasic and Tamasic
qualities is absorbed in external objects while the mind which is filled
with Sattvik qualities is absorbed in the Self and Atmajnana or the
knowledge of the Self. Just as the wave that rises and falls back into the
ocean ceases to exist, so also the mind that is absorbed in the Self ceases
to exist and this state is called ‘no mind’ state or liberation.
As long as the mind pursues external objects there is no liberation, but
liberation has to be attained only through the mind! So how does one
get to the ‘no mind’ state? The way is to first purify the mind through
Seva and Yagna and then contemplate on Consciousness with this pure
mind. The impure mind is like the frog in the well, but the purified mind
has the ability to open the gates for Self-realization.
Let me illustrate this process with a story. Two frogs fell into a big pot
of curd. The pot was big and they were unable to jump out. One frog
gave up and died, the other frog tried and tried and in the process
churned the curd. A big ball of butter was formed. The frog climbed on
the ball of butter, floated on it, jumped out and saved itself! Our mind
is like the frog that has fallen into the samsara sagara or the ocean of
bondage. If we give up from liberating ourselves from this bondage
under the notion that nothing can happen to us, then we die in bondage.
We have to try and try and that trying or effort is called sadhana. One has
to constantly and consistently listen, understand, contemplate and
meditate on the spiritual truths. We need not be demoralized that
Consciousness cannot be understood by the mind. Try and try, sooner
or later the Truth will reveal itself to you.
In Sanatana Dharma there are two ways – name and form (nama – rupa),
to contemplate on and realize the spiritual truths. The whole world is
nothing but name and form (nama-rupa). The moment I say flower, the
image of a flower comes in your mind. When we see a flower, its name

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comes into the mind. Name and form are interlinked; they are related to
each other. In the world, every object has a name and form. Nothing
material in the world is devoid of name or form. Based on this
fundamental nature of the world, our rishis prescribed us two ways to
realize our Self - Vigraha and Namasmarane.
Vigraha is a form or rupa, which absorbs your mind in a special way to
help contemplate on Brahman. Vigraha may be Chara Vigraha (moving)
or Sthira Vigraha (non-moving). It can be a mountain like Kailasa,
Arunachala or Siva Linga or various forms of the Lord which helps to
focus on the Lord. Vigraha itself is not God but is the form which
directs or points to God. Looking at the Vigraha, one has to contemplate
on God about his nature thereby purifying and transcending one’s mind.
Namasmarane or chanting God’s name or mantras like 'Om Namah
Shivaya', 'Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha' reverts the mind back to God and
his qualities. Name and form individually or together can aid in
transcending the mind. Contemplating on God and his qualities, visually
– by looking at an idol is called Vigraha. When one’s mind becomes
contemplative and focused on God and his qualities, by listening or
repeating a name or mantra is called Namasmarane.
Akin to when a child grows up and leaves home for better prospects, the
child’s clothes revive fond memories for the mother, the dining table,
someone uttering her child’s name, and everything that she does
reminds her of her child. Neither the food nor the name is her child but
they remind her of her son. Similarly, Vigraha and Namasmarane,
constantly remind us of God and his qualities.
The mind always needs something to focus on. Providing it with a name
and form is one way of directing the mind to remember the Lord who
created them. That is the purpose of form and Name. For example,
Shiva Linga and Saligrama – found in the sacred river Dandaki, both
represent the formlessness aspect of God. Looking at Saligrama, your
mind has to go back to the Lord who created it. The highest Vigraha is a
Jnani. The highest form of the Lord or the highest remembrance of the
Lord can happen through remembrance of Jnani because by interacting
with a Jnani or a Guru, your mind gets absorbed in higher
Consciousness.
The Atmajnani’s body is not Brahman, but one can see the
Consciousness of Brahman, the supreme qualities of Brahman in him.

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Our eyes cannot see the sun directly as it is too bright but the moon is
pleasing. The mind becomes peaceful and silent on seeing the moon.
The moon is nothing but the reflection of the sun, you can see the
moon but you cannot see the sun. The moon represents the mind and
the sun represents the Atma. A mind that is fully bloomed reflects the
sun completely and such a person is called Poornajna, Guru. It will be very
pleasing to the eyes. You cannot see the Sun but you can see a Guru or
an Atmajnani who has the qualities of the Sun, whose mind shines with
Atmajnana, and his presence brings peace to the mind. That is why
Sadguru is considered as the highest form of Brahman.
When you close your eyes, many thoughts arise in the mind. All
thoughts are connected to some object, name and/or form. When you
replace that name with Lord’s name, Bhagavan Namasmarane, when you
see God in all of the forms in the world the mind becomes pure. We
constantly think about what is important to us. When all the
recollections become the name of God, the mind gets purified. This
process of purifying the mind through constant remembrance of the
Lord gave rise to Nama Japa or reciting God's name and Vigraha aradhane
or Idol worship.
In the Vedic age, there was neither idol worship nor worship of any man
made forms (Vigraha). Nature and natural forces like wind, fire etc. were
worshipped. Through these forms they used to remember the Lord. Fire
was most important in those days, their whole life was dependent on
fire, so what better form could there be to remember God? Whenever
they saw fire they remembered God. Thus, fire became the means for
realizing God. With progression from Vedic age to the modern age,
idols came into form, but we gradually forgot that Vigraha is a pointer
towards God and to realize God, but our minds are stuck in the form or
Vigraha. We forgot the essence of idol or form worship, which is to
progress from form to formlessness and beyond, however in ignorance
our minds are clinging to the form. Likewise, the name is also to help
one’s mind to transcend name, form and beyond!
Every single day we process about sixty thousand thoughts in our mind.
The intent of Namasmarane is to convert those sixty thousand thoughts
to one thought of God. When you offer even that name to God, you
will find God beyond name and form. Finally drop both - name and
form, to experience the formless Divine!!

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Omkara
ॐ इत्येतदक्षरमिदँ सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं
भूतं भर्वद् भमर्वष्यमदमत सर्वविोङ्कार एर्व
यच्चान्यत् मिकालातीतं तदप्योङ्कार एर्व ॥१॥
Om iti etad aksharam idam sarvam tasyopavyakhyanam
bhutam bhavad bhavishyaditi sarvam Omkara eva
yacchanyat trikal-atitam tadapi Omkara eva ॥1॥
Verse 1:
OM! - This Imperishable Word is the whole of this visible universe. Its
explanation is as follows: What has become, what is becoming, what will
become – verily, all of this is OM. And what is beyond these three states
of the world of time – that too, verily, is OM.

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Contemplating on Omkara is a meditation on name and form as well as
the nameless and formless aspects of the Lord. Mandukya Upanishad
explains this uniqueness of Omkara. Whenever we recite some name, its
form or images springs in the mind. Similarly, when we chant the
Omkara, form and the formless nature of the Lord comes into our mind.
To experience this, we need to learn and understand the spiritual
significance of Omkara correctly.
Mantras begin and end with Omkara, to indicate that while
contemplating on mantras revert the mind back to Omkara as nothing
other than Omkara exists in the Universe. When you chant 'Om Namo
Bhagavate Vasudevaya' or ‘Om Tat Sat, Hari Om Tat Sat Om’, it is an
indication that after contemplating on Bhagavan Namasmarane, you have
to direct the mind back to Omkara. We do Japa without understanding
the importance of Omkara. Omkara has become an auspicious symbol, a
sticker to be put on a car, on the door. It is not just a symbol but much
more than that. It is a sacred pointer. Everything starts with Omkara and
ends with Omkara and everything is Omkara!
Omkara is called Nadabrahma, because everything in the Universe
manifests in Omkara, sustains in Omkara and merges back into Omkara.
It represents the form and formless aspect of reality
‘Om iti etad aksharam’. Om is the only ‘Akshara’. Akshara means
imperishable or that which does not die and ‘Kshara’ means perishable.
There are fifty two Aksharas or alphabets in Sanskrit, starting with ‘A’
and ending with ‘ksha’. Everything in the Universe perishes. The whole
Universe consists of billions and billions of planets, galaxies, solar
systems that perish. All living beings die, including Brahmaji. Those who
die or perish are called Kshara Purushas. Within that Kshara Purusha is
something which does not die and that is Akshara - Sakshi. In the
perishable body, there is something which is imperishable, and that is
Sakshi - Bhagavan. Paramatma is in us in the form of imperishable or
Akshara - Witness.
The real Akshara is called Narayana, Parabrahma, Sakshi. Objects are not
Akshara, every name and form represents nameless and the formless
aspects of Existence. Everything in the Universe is constantly changing,
but it still exists because there is something which is changeless and
imperishable or Akshara. The power or Chethana which holds the Kshara

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is Akshara. Looking at the Kshara, you must contemplate on Akshara,
looking at death you must contemplate on the one which is Eternal.
Looking at the change, you must contemplate on unchanging. Just as
there is no picture without a screen, similarly Akshara - Parabrahma -
Narayana is the screen on which this whole manifest world is projected
as a picture!
Sarvam tasyopaya vyakyaanam yad bhutam bhavathu bavishathi sarvam
Omkaram. Yad bhutam: what happened in the past was Omkara. bhavathu
bavishathi: what will happen in the future is also Omkara.
Omkara comprises of three very unique alphabets A, U, M (A-kara, U-
kara, M-kara) that are pronounced without the involvement of the
tongue, unlike all other alphabets! Every Akshara or alphabet in the
world is a combination of Omkara in different proportions. Hence, all
names/words in all languages are Omkara, because the phonetics of
every name/word disintegrates to the fundamental a-u-m and all
alphabets are the combination of Omkara.
It is like the relation between ice, water and vapour. Chemistry says that
water has one molecule of Oxygen and two molecules of Hydrogen.
H2O means water whether it is ice or water from Ganga. All water in the
world is H2O, similarly whatever name/word you say it is Omkara. View
all names through the electron microscope called Jnana, you will observe
it is Omkara. Take any name in the world, any language; if you see
through the Mandukya Upanishad microscope called Jnana, there exists
no word or name other than Omkara. Roar of the tiger is also Omkara; all
sounds made by all animals are Omkara. The Ocean’s waves rise and fall,
the sound made by the waves is also Omkara. The sound of bell ringing
in the temple is Omkara, the sound of the conch is Omkara. There is
nothing other than Omkara. Every sound that you hear is Omkara.
Sri Madhvacharya says that not only is Namasmarane, also the sound
made by the birds is Omkara. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa gives a
good example for this. He says that a magician comes on a stage and
asks people what they want. He asks which colour flower they want.
Someone says red, and he pulls out a red flower from his hat, someone
says yellow and he pulls out a yellow flower from his hat. The hat is the
same but the colour of the flowers is different. Similarly, only Omkara
exists and the whole Universe is created from Omkara.

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Today, digital television displays up to ten lakh colours, but in reality
there are only three primary colours – red, blue and green! In reality, the
station transmits only these three colours, ‘RBG’, Red, Blue and Green.
These three colours are mixed in various proportions to get all other
colours. Similarly, when A, U, M are mixed in different proportions,
infinite names/words/sounds are born. From those infinite names,
infinite forms arise in our mind. All names and forms in the Universe
are nothing but Omkara!
“yad bhutam bhavathu bavishathi sarvam Om karam”. Earth is billions of
years old. Many species were born, died and become extinct. Various
seasons have changed many times. Countless numbers of kings and
queens were born and died, infinite things have happened. All these
infinite things and events that have happened in the past are nothing but
birth and death of names and forms which is Omkara. There is nothing
other than Omkara that will manifest in the future too. Regarding the
present, it will not be with you and nor can you ever possess it. If you
possess it, it becomes past instantly. If you live and exist in the present
moment, you will be a Self-Realized person - you become Atmajnani,
because 'Self' alone is in the present moment.
‘thrikalathitam thadapi Omkaram yeva’. Omkara is beyond the three Kalas
(past-present and future), it is the timeless principle. Time has emerged
from the timeless principle. From the one who is beyond time, the time
has come to exist. Everything that appears in time is name and form,
and all names and forms are Omkara, the one who is beyond time is
'Self', and that 'Self' - 'Atman' is also Omkara – thadapi Omkara evam. The
past, present and future is nothing but Omkara and the one which is
beyond the past, present and future, timelessness is also Omkara.
Many people call Atmajnani 'TrikalaJnani', the knower of past, present
and future. People confuse this knower of past, present and future with
an astrologer; they think that an Atmajnani, a Trikalajnani can tell their
past, present and future accurately and ask him about specific
incidences. Atmajnani is called Trikalajnani because he knows that all
kalas are nothing but Omkara, and that Omkara is Brahman. The ability
to see what happened in the past and predict the future is called Siddhi.
Atmajnani knows what the ‘Truth’ behind Kala is, but people ask what
happens in the Kala. The one beyond time is Brahman - Omkara.

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There is another specialty about Omkara; it is the bridge between the
seen and unseen. What you see in the world is rupa or form, what is
beyond the world is rupatita or formless. When you contemplate on
Omkara both the form and formless come into picture. The sound in
chanting Omkara is the form and the silence in between the chanting of
Omkara is formless. Omkara is the bridge between 'sakara' (form) and
'nirakara' (formless), so it helps one to progress from sakara to nirakara.
Atmajnani is Parabrahma, he has a form and is formless; he is the
Atmaswaroopa. He is Brahmaswaroopa. Sadguru is the bridge between the
form and the unseen Parabrahma. The qualities of the formless Atman
reflect in him, Jnani is the representation of God. Similarly, Omkara
represents the name and form of God; it becomes the bridge between
seen to unseen, from sakara to nirakara. Contemplate on this highest
form of meditation of Omkara and get liberated!

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The Indivisible Self
सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायिात्िा ब्रह्म सोऽयिात्िा चतुष्पात् ॥२॥
sarvam hyetad brahma ayamatma
brahma soayamatma chatushpat ॥2॥
Verse 2:
All this, verily, is Brahman. The Self is Brahman. This Self has four
quarters.

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‘Eta’ means visible and 'tad' means invisible. Whatever is visible in this
world is called 'Drshya Prapancha'. If you look in this room, you can see
the clock, fan, tube light etc. if you drop these forms and names then
what you see is Consciousness only. By identifying only with the name
and form, you are missing God. What you see is God only. What can be
seen is nothing other than God, Consciousness. There is only
Consciousness but you call it by various names, because of the various
forms.
For example, let us take this piece of paper. I will make a rocket out of
this paper. You all can see the rocket now. Where is the paper? Paper is
what this rocket is made of, but just because it has taken a new form,
you are calling it by the name ‘rocket'. Similarly, whatever you see here is
nothing but Consciousness. As it has taken different forms, we are
forgetting that it is Consciousness. Looking at the form and name we
tend to forget the source of that form and name. The Consciousness
alone exists. As we identify only with the name and form, we fail to
understand that it is Consciousness that has manifested in this form. If
you remove the name and form, what remains in this case is paper alone.
Similarly, if you remove the name and form of what you see in this
world, what remains is Brahman only, Consciousness alone. What you
see is Brahman and what you don’t see is also Brahman, there is nothing
else other than Brahman.
To make this clear further, let us take the example of this water bottle.
Bottle is just a name. When you recognize this as a bottle, it is a thought.
What is thought? Thought is nothing but a wave in Consciousness.
Thought is not different from Consciousness. So the bottle is a wave in
Consciousness. There is no bottle, there is a wave in Consciousness and
there is only Consciousness. Your body, mind is also a wave in
Consciousness. When you identify with the wave you are a ‘Jiva’ and
when you identify with Consciousness you are ‘Brahman’ or ‘Siva’.
Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, 'mamai vamsha sambhuta Jiva bhuta
sanatana', all living beings are a fraction of my being (amsha). Everything
is part of one whole Consciousness. Realizing this is called ‘Saguna
Brahman’ realization. One who realizes this begins to experience the
whole creation as one totality, oneness. Experiencing that oneness
induces significant changes in the nervous system, and human brain
recognition patterns. Human brain otherwise is tuned to recognize

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objects but when one experiences whole creation as one totality, he sees
oneness in the whole universe.
Let me tell you a story from the Puranas. There was a demon called
Hiranyaksha who was being destructive in the entire universe. He once
captured the earth and fled away with it. Then Lord Vishnu took the
form of Varaha, a boar and killed Hiranyaksha. The Lord forgot that he
had come from Vaikunta. He began to enjoy his new body, out of his
own will he created a female boar and started a family. Then Goddess
Lakshmi got worried and complained to Shiva. Shiva came and
reminded Vishnu, who was in the form of Varaha to go back. Vishnu
said that he was very happy with his family. Shiva then with his trishula
killed the boar. The boar then realized that he was Vishnu and he went
back to Vaikunta. All life forms are creation of the Lord. After creating
the life forms, Consciousness enters into that and identifies with that life
form and becomes Jiva and forgets that he is of the form of Pure
Awareness. Jiva who realizes this becomes Shiva.
One Consciousness manifests in many forms, identifies with the form
and becomes Jiva but everything is Brahman or Consciousness. 'Ayam
atma chatushpat'. There are four aspects of this Consciousness.
Consciousness in the waking state - Jiva in waking state is called
Vaishwanara and the world experienced in this state is called Virat. Jiva
in dreaming state is called Taijasa and the world experienced is called
Hiranyagarbha. Jiva in deep sleep state is called Prajna and the world
experienced is Ishwara. Beyond these three states is the fourth state of
Turiya, state of Sakshi or Pure Awareness.
In hotels in India during earlier days, a single person used to manage the
entire show. For instance, a waiter would take orders, go into the kitchen
and cook, serve it to the customer, clean the tables and collect cash as a
cashier. A single person used to play all these roles efficiently. Similarly,
it is one Consciousness, one Sakshi that becomes Vaishwanara, Taijasa
and Prajna.

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The Waking State
जागररतस्थानो बमिष्रज्ञः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनमर्वंशमतिुखः
स्थूल भुग्र्वैश्वानरः रथिः पादः ॥३॥
jagarita sthano bahish-prajnah sapt-anga
ekonavimshati-mukhah sthula
bhug-vaishvanarah prathamah padah ॥3॥
Verse 3:
The first quarter is Vaiśvānara. Its field is the waking state. Its
consciousness is outward-turned. It is seven-limbed and nineteen-
mouthed. It enjoys gross objects.

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Vaishvanara is one who experiences the gross Universe. Vishva is the
visible, manifest Universe that is experienced and Nara means human
beings or living beings who have lost Ananda (Bliss). Narayana is one
who realizes he is Consciousness. Virat is the collection of all the living
beings in the Universe. Mandukya Upanishad is a commentary on
happenings of the past, present and the future which are the
manifestation of the Lord and is called as ‘Virat Rupa Darshana or Vishva
Rupa Darshana’. The ‘Virat Rupa’ consists of millions of living beings.
However, Sakshi (Witness) or the experiencer is one but the appearances
are many! In Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna experiences
everything as the manifestation of the Lord; it is called ‘Virat Rupa
Darshana’ or ‘Vishvarupa Darshana’.
In Jagrat or waking state, mind pursues external objects because of which
our awareness is directed outwards and we experience the gross objects.
One who forgets, loses one’s Self-awareness and experiences the gross
physical world is Jiva and the one who realizes their true nature and
identity is Siva. Jiva and Siva are same!
Due to the highly evolved nervous system, human beings have the
ability to be Self-aware unlike the animals that do not have the ability to
be Self-aware. However, the Self-awareness of human being is jumbled
up which makes him think erroneously that he is the body, mind and
intellect! In a Jnani the same Self-awareness is pure and clear because of
which he realizes that he is not the body, mind and intellect.
During one of his travels, Sri Shankaracharya was passing through a
village where a six year old deaf and dumb child lived. The parents
brought the child to Sri Shankaracharya to beget his blessings. The child
had never spoken since his birth and no one knew whether he could
hear or not. When Sri Shankaracharya asked the child, “Who are you?”
the child responded, “mano buddhi ahankara na chitta naa ham” – “I am not
the body, I am not mind and I am not the intellect. I am pure Sakshi.”
This was the first word or sentence that this child, who was considered
deaf and mute, spoke! The child never spoke a single word since his
birth, because he thought that talking was futile. Sri Shankaracharya
proclaimed that the child was a born Jnani and called him ‘Hasthamalaka’
- Hastha means hand and Amalaka means gooseberry. This child was
named thus to imply his realization, from birth, of his true identity as
Atman which was as clear as one can see a gooseberry placed on the
palm. Spirituality is to understand that ‘I am not the body, mind or

20
intellect, I am Pure Awareness’, but our mind keeps wandering and
gravitating towards our body mind and intellect which is nothing but an
instrument!!
One day, as usual, Mullah Nasiruddin went for a drink and while coming
back he forgot the way to his house in his drunken state. He went and
knocked on his residence doo. His wife opened the door; suddenly he
thought he had mistakenly knocked on someone else’s house and ran
from there. At that very moment, a rickshaw driver came by and asked
Mullah if he needed a ride. Mullah said that he wanted a ride home and
sat in the rickshaw. The rickshaw driver was also drunk. Both of them
were driving around in circles the whole night and when morning
dawned, they realized that they were circling around Mullah’s home all
night. Similarly, when we are intoxicated with the concept that ‘I am the
body, mind and intellect’ we lose sight of our true identity and live in a
dream world. The false illusion that ‘I am the body, mind and intellect’
is the most intoxicating drink. Once that intoxication wears off, you are
not in ignorance anymore and realize you are not the body, mind and
intellect
Out of sheer ignorance you enjoy and experience the outer gross world
sthula bhugu with sapta angah or seven parts of the individual or Jivatma
and seven aspects of Virat Purusha - head, eyes, nose, chest, trunk, legs
and kidneys.
For Brahman, the entire Universe is his body– sky is his head, sun is his
eyes, the space between is his trunk, earth is his feet, air is his breath,
water is his kidneys. As Vaishvanara, you have seven parts or aspects
known as head, eyes, nose, chest, trunk, kidneys and legs. This is the
comparison of Universe or the macro (Brahmanda) and individual or
micro (Pindanda). Universe – macro and individual – micro are same but
appear as different. What is in Brahmanda is also in Pindanda and what is
in Pindanda is also in Brahmanda. This is why it is called sapta angah.

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ekonavimshati-mukhah, a Jivatma has nineteen faces. They are
 Sense organs (Jnanedriyas) - eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin,
 Organs of actions (Karmendriyas) - hands, legs, mouth, sex organ and
anus,
 Five Pranas - prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana.
 Mind (Manas),
 Intellect (Buddhi),
 Ego (Ahamkara) and
 Sub-conscious mind (Chitta). Mind, intellect, ego and sub-conscious
mind or the internal aspect collectively is called Antahkarana.
With all these nineteen aspects an individual or Vaishvanara experiences
the outer gross world. This is called the prathama pada or the first aspect
of Cosmic Reality – Parabrahma as Vaishvanara. The whole Universe is
Brahmasvarupa unfortunately; we are unable to recognize it because of
our false identification with body, mind and intellect. When you realize
that you are not the body mind and intellect, you are Pure Awareness,
only then you will realize that the whole Universe is also nothing but
awareness.

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The Dream State
स्र्वप्नस्थानोऽन्तः रज्ञाः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनमर्वंशमतिुखः
रमर्वमर्वक्तभुक्तै जसो मितीयः पादः ॥४॥
svapna sthano'ntah prajnah sapt-anga ekonavimshati-mukhah
pravivikta bhuktaijaso dvitiyah padah ॥4॥
Verse 4
The second quarter is Taijasa. Its field is the dream state. Its
consciousness is inward-turned. It is seven-limbed and nineteen-
mouthed. It enjoys subtle objects.

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In the waking state, experiencing the world through the body and mind
is like wearing spectacles. The being in waking state is called Vaishvanara
as he is looking at Vishwa (the gross world). In Swapna (dream state) the
being is called Taijasa. In this state too, the being has seven angas
(organs) and nineteen faces, just like in the waking state. While in the
waking state the organs represent the gross organs of the body, in dream
state the organs are that of the subtle body. For example in the dream
state of a man/woman, the dreamer may go back to childhood –
become a child using the subtle body of the child. The subtle body of
the child in the dream also has similar organs as that of gross body.
Taijasa is the second state of Consciousness. There are four states of
Consciousness - waking, dreaming, deep sleep and Turiya or Samadhi.
Turiya is the state of pure Consciousness – Nirguna Brahman. One who
experiences these four states is a Brahmajnani. It is one Brahman that
manifests through various instruments or living beings in different states
of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. For example, spectacles are of
different colours like pink, red and so on. Depending on the colour of
the spectacles and the dominance of the gunas – tamas, rajas and sattva,
one experiences the world in red and the other in pink! Hence the
experiences are different but Brahman, Seer, Witness or Sakshi is One!!
The Lord or Brahman is experiencing the whole world through many
eyes and/or many instruments.
Purusha Sukta explains this multitude aspect of the Lord in the following
aphorism or shloka:
sahasra’Seershaa purushah | sahasraakshah sahasra’paat |
sa bhoomi’m visvato’ vrutvaa | atya’tishthaddasaamgulam ||
‘Purusha’ means Parabhrama or Narayana who has thousands of heads,
eyes and ears metaphorically and not literally. It implies that the head,
eyes and legs of all living beings belong to Him, it is he who sees
through all the eyes, listens through all the ears, understands through all
the heads and works through all the legs. Thereby, implying that you are
also a part of him, your head, hands and legs are all part of the one
Purusha or Parabrahma or Narayana.
Let me tell the story of Gampa Guru (dumb Master) and his Shishyas
(disciples). Gampa Guru had ten Shishyas. One day, they had to cross a

24
river to reach an ashram on the other bank of the river. In those days,
people used to swim across rivers as there was no other means of
transport available in remote places. The Guru told his chief disciple to
see to it that all the disciples reached the ashram on the other side safely.
After they reached the other side, the chief disciple counted all the
disciples except him and panicked that only nine of them have reached.
He was devastated that he had not been able to execute his Guru’s
command and began to bang his head against a rock. A passerby saw
this and asked him why he was so upset. The chief disciple explained the
problem and the passerby lined up all the disciples in a single file and
asked them to individually call out numbers. To their surprise, they had
called out up to ten! All the disciples were very happy and the chief
disciple was surprised!
Similarly, when we contemplate on the abovementioned shloka
‘Sahasrashirsha Purusha’, we need to remember that our head is included
in the thousand heads of the Lord! Atmajnana or Self-realization is to
realize that we are not separate from the Lord. Until we realize this, we
will keep banging our head on the rock, like the chief disciple and
continue to experience the separation from the Lord. Once the true Self
is realized, crying and suffering will stop but bleeding from the wounds
caused by banging our head will not stop and therefore, a bandage is
required. Whatever Karma one has accrued before Self-realization known
as Prarabdha karma will continue to be in force. Once you are blessed
with Atmajnana you revert to Sahajastithi (natural state). Being ignorant is
unnatural and extraordinary whereas Self-realization or Atmajnana is
being very ordinary. For an Atmajnani, everyone is perceived as
Atmajnani, whereas an ignorant person perceives everyone as ignorant.
Siva sees himself in all Jivas but Jiva cannot understand Siva. Never
comment on the world, understand your true nature first!
The Swapnasthithi (dream state), is an intermediate state. In waking state,
you experience the world as gross objects where the mind appears gross,
memories of which are imprinted in the subconscious mind. During
slumber while in dream state, you experience subtle objects of the mind
which appears as a subtle object. For instance, let us assume that in the
gross world you had an intense desire for an object you did not get it.
This incidence or desire or any emotion also gets imprinted in the
subconscious mind. Subconscious mind prints a copy of the gross
world. The concept of Sanyasa (monkhood) has a connection with this
phenomenon. Sanyasa is mistakenly understood to mean dropping the

25
gross world, which is impossible. True Sanyasa and Vairagya
(detachment) is living in the world and dropping the imprint and
attachment to the memories of the world in the subconscious.
There was a king called Narcissus. One day, he peered into a silent and
tranquil pond and observed a reflection of his handsome face in the
pond. He fell in love with his reflection in the pond and did not want to
leave. As a result of his foolishness, he died of hunger and fatigue. The
term ‘Narcissist’ in the study of psychology has its roots from this story.
People who fall in love with themselves and constantly appreciate
themselves are called narcissists. The narcissist in this story is an extreme
case but in reality each person has a false image of himself/herself and
gets attached to that image. You are neither an image nor a reflection;
you are the Supreme Reality or the Original Source!
If something troubles you in life, it is not the world that is troubling you;
it is the image or reflection that is the cause of trouble. For instance,
when someone admires a beautiful girl, and if another person comments
about the problem in her eyes, the perception immediately changes. All
images are false; reality can never have an image!! You are constantly
playing various roles during your interaction with the world and cannot
say that you are the real father or real mother. You are only playing the
role of a father. Never confuse the role with yourself. An actor never
confuses the role of a villain that he plays, with himself and turn around
and behave like a villain in real life. Why are you confusing yourself with
the role you are playing? Why did you forget that you are Atman? We
only play the role and we are not that, Atma is our real nature.
Saint Meerabai had a very troubled childhood. Someone had accused
and complained to her husband Rana, of her of talking to a secret lover
when she was drowned in devotion and conversing with Lord Krishna.
Subsequently, she was secretly given a poisonous drink. She prayed to
Lord Krishna and drank the poison, which became nectar and filled her
with bliss. She then decided to leave the palace and lead the life of a
wandering monk and sang innumerable devotional bhajans on Lord
Krishna. As she wandered, she sang bhajans on Lord Krishna all along
and reached Mathura.
In Mathura there lived a Rupa Goswamy who was known to be a great
Krishna bhakta (devotee). Saint Meerabai wanted to meet him but he
declined to meet her as he had taken an oath not to meet any women. In

26
response to that denial, Saint Meerabai sent a message that, ‘There is
only one Purusha in the world, and everyone else is a Sthree’. One who is
identified with the gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas is Sthree. All living beings
are Sthree having a very deep desire also called Gopika, to realize and
unite with the Purusha or Bhagwan. Rasaleela is the day you realize the
Lord, the Jivatma realizing Paramatma!
The feeling of ‘I am the body, mind, and intellect’ is a reflection,
ignorance and not reality. This ignorance is called avidya, when you are
living with this ignorance you are living in Maya. The day you realize that
you are not the body and mind reflection is when the Rasaleela realization
dawns, i.e. when Gopika realizes Krishna. We live our entire life with the
images that are stored in our mind. We live as if the impressions and
images are true. Once, all the illusions and images in the mind are
dropped then what remains is you, the reality. Dropping of the image
means not identifying with the image. You are not the image in your
mind. You might wonder how one can live without these images. The
following illustration will clarify the point. A blind person went to a
doctor, who told him that he would regain his vision after a surgery.
Promptly, the blind person asked the doctor what he should do with his
cane on regaining his vision!
There was a Russian Master called Gurdjieff. The Russian Master,
Gurdjieff had a student called Ouspensky. Ouspensky asked the Master
to teach him meditation. Gurdjieff taught him – ‘I am not the body’ and
instructed him to be in isolation for a period of three months and
contemplate on his teaching in solitude. He went back to the Master
after three months. The Master took him out for a walk this time. The
student noticed that everyone seemed to be in a dream state, as though
they were living in a dream world. He asked the Master why everyone
seems to be in a dream state. The Master said to the disciple that when
he had come to see him three months ago, his perception of the people
was that they were all awake and now he was clearly able to see that the
people around were all in their own dream world.
A Jnani is called ‘the Awakened One’. Buddha, Ramakrishna and
Vivekananda are examples of the awakened ones. They awoke from the
waking dream of ‘I am business man’, ‘I am the body’, ‘I am a wife’ and
‘I am engineer’. All these are dreams being replayed in the waking state.
Waking up from this dream is called Shiva Ratri. We live in a mental
world where we create our heaven and hell. Wake up from the dream.

27
Know that you are not the dreamer but you are the Sakshi. There are six
lokas or realms of existence, from Bhuloka to Tapoloka. When you wake
from up these you will experience Vaikuntaloka, the state of absolute
bliss.

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The Deep sleep State
यि सुप्तो न कञ्चन कािं काियते
न कञ्चन स्र्वप्नं पश्यमत तत् सुषुप्ति् ।
सुषुप्तस्थान एकीभूतः रज्ञानघन एर्वानन्दियो
ह्यानन्दभुक् चेतो िुखः राज्ञस्तृतीयः पादः ॥५॥
yatra supto na kanchana kamam kamayate
na kanchana svapnam pashyati tat sushuptam ।
sushupta-sthana eki-bhutah prajnana-ghana ev-anandamayo
hyanandabhuk cheto mukhah Prajna-strutiyah padah ॥5॥
Verse 5
The third quarter is Prājña, where one asleep neither desires anything
nor beholds any dream: that is deep sleep. In this field of dreamless
sleep, one becomes undivided, an undifferentiated mass of
consciousness, consisting of bliss and feeding on bliss. His mouth is
consciousness.

29
The deep sleep state is the third state of Brahman. In dream state, the
mind projects subtle objects and in waking state, it projects gross
objects. In deep sleep state the mind is silent, and bliss or Ananda is
experienced. That is why deep sleep is very relaxing. Who experiences
the bliss? It is the Atma that experiences bliss. You alone are there, the
Self alone exists. That experience of bliss is called Atmananda which is
experienced in enlightenment.
As an example, when the husband is around his wife is troubled as he
can be very demanding and when he is not around there is no trouble
for the wife! Similarly, in deep sleep state there is no mind and hence
you experience bliss. However, it is not the state of realization because
the ignorance hasn’t been destroyed, and you do not realize that bliss is
your true nature. In deep sleep state, Atma says nobody is there and I am
happy. It does not realize that happiness is me. Atma is the state of bliss.
Atma does not realize the bliss is ‘me’ in the deep sleep state, it is
realized only in Turiya state when awareness is there and ‘I am’ the
awareness happens. In a way, deep sleep is negative happiness. There is a
recognition of happiness but it is attributed to the wrong cause i.e. the
absence of objects, not the Self. Whereas Samadhi is positive happiness
and it is recognition of one’s true nature
Shri Naradamuni was a Brahmachari - one whose mind is constantly
absorbed on Brahman. Shri Naradamuni was very egoistic and thought
that Maya could not touch him. He told Lord Vishnu about his thoughts
on Maya. Lord Vishnu laughed and asked Shri Naradamuni to
accompany him on a walk. As they were walking, the Lord asked him to
bring a glass of water. Shri Naradamuni knocked on a door and to his
amazement a beautiful girl opened the door. He was mesmerized by her
beauty and asked her to marry him. They got married and had six
children. One day, there was a heavy flood and his wife and children
succumbed to the disaster. He was overcome with grief and then he
suddenly woke up and realized that he had come to fetch water for the
Lord. Lord Vishnu told him that he was waiting for fifteen minutes
while Shri Naradamuni had spent twenty years in the dream world. So
many events had happened in such a short time. When the mind gets
attracted to something, it gets involved, loses self-awareness and gets
trapped in Maya.
Mandukya Upanishad is an analysis of our waking, dreaming and deep
sleep states. The first state is the waking state called Vaishwanara. The

30
second is the dreaming state called as Taijasa and the third is deep sleep
state called as Prajna. It is interesting that the same being becomes
Prajna in the deep sleep state. We think that the waking state is very
important, but in relation to the Atma, deep sleep is very close. When we
are in the waking state, we are farther away from the Atma, the distance
is not physical but conceptual. During the waking state, we experience
the world and get enchanted and trapped in it and forget our Atma or
true nature. As we enter deep sleep state, we are closer to the Self. Our
being in that state is called Prajna which means higher knowledge.
Deep sleep state in an individual is called Prajna and universally it is
called Ishwara. Ishwara is the collection of all the beings in the whole
Universe and their impressions. Ishwara means Bhagavan and not Lord
Shiva, who is also addressed as Ishwara. The Swaroopa (appearance) of
Bhagavan is Ishwara that which one experiences in deep sleep state. In this
state everyone experiences the same bliss!
In the waking state, someone is very happy because he has a million
dollars and another person is very sad because he lost all his money.
One possesses good health and one loses health. Somebody is married,
somebody is not married. Somebody who is not married is trying to get
married and somebody who is married is trying to get a divorce.
Whatever you try to fulfil in the waking state you will try to fulfil the
same in the dream state. You saw somebody in the morning and wanted
to talk to her and you couldn’t, then most likely you will talk to her in
your dream. Dream world exists to allow you to fulfil your unfulfilled
desires from the waking state. That is a mechanism used by the mind to
balance itself, without which the mind would become imbalanced.
Disturbances in the waking state are usually resolved in the dream state.
One day, a Zen Master woke up early in the morning and started to cry.
All his students gathered around him and asked him the reason for
crying. The Master said that he was a butterfly in his dream that he
dreamt the previous night. The students still did not understand why
the Master was crying. The Master then said that he was crying because
he did not know whether he was a butterfly dreaming of being a Zen
Master or a Zen Master who dreamt of being a butterfly! He was not
sure which one was a dream and which was a reality. This is the story of
the dream.

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Do you think what you are seeing is reality? Can you at any point of time
distinguish between reality and dream? You think that you are listening
to this lecture but for all you know you may be sleeping in your bed and
dreaming that you are attending the Satsang. How do you know what is
the difference? Is there a way you can tell the difference? Now it is good
that you are having a nice dream of Satsang, but you could be having
horrible dreams too. Why don’t you think that this is a dream? Please
understand that both waking and dream states are dreams. You might
justify that the waking state is not a dream as there is continuity of
events and experience like - I see the same wife, same husband, same
house, and same boss!
You have never seen anything twice in your life. Have you come to this
room earlier? Was this fan running or that fan running in this room?
Was I sitting like this in this room? Things have undergone change in
this room; it is not the same room. You cannot enter into any room
twice, because it would have undergone changes whether it is small or
big! Don’t think that it is so simple. Ask the ladies when they go
shopping where there are so many saris; they purchase only one sari
after touching, feeling, experiencing and imagining how they would look
in it. Once they go home and open the sari, if one small thread is not in
place they will return it. Even if one thread is changed, it is not the same
sari. Then how can you think that this is the same room even after so
many changes?
You wake up in the morning and see the same wife, same husband, are
you really seeing the same person? Every minute our mind is changing.
How can you say that it is the same wife you are seeing every morning?
Can you understand that a person’s mind can change from minute to
minute, one moment he is peaceful, next moment he is angry like a tiger,
is it not totally opposite? Is it the same person you are seeing? It is a
totally different person. Next moment, he becomes something else.
Every moment the human being is changing. What about the body?
Once you breathe in and breathe out, almost hundred thousand cells of
your body die and the dead cells are thrown out through the breath and
hundred thousand new cells are born. If hundred thousand old cells go
out from your body and hundred thousand new cells are born, are you
the same person?
The body is changing, the mind is changing, and every moment the
intellect is also changing. Then what is constant in you? Buildings also

32
change. Building means a place, an entire place. Chemical reactions
happen all the time. If you come after ten years, the paint would have
gone. You are not noticing it. It is happening even now. Please tell me,
what is same from yesterday and today? Only your memory is same, in
reality everything has changed. If you know this, you will be happy,
every day you have a new wife
Nothing is permanent in life. Change is the law of nature. What is in the
morning will not be in the evening and night. The person that we saw
will not be the same, they will be different persons. The only thing that
is constant is your memory because of which you think that this world is
permanent. It is not true, it is a deception tool. Memory is a photograph
or snapshot of a moment. After the photo is taken things out there
change the very next moment. Nowadays with digital photography
people click thousands of photographs at their whim and fancy as they
can later make many changes in it like - change the brightness, make it
more beautiful etc. When we visit someone’s house they share their
photo albums to keep you engaged. They point at an old photograph
and say that the one in the shorts is me. This is human nature; you are
living in the illusion that the memory is you. Memory is not you, it is the
basis of Maya, and you have become what you are not. A picture has
come in your mind, and you think that you are that picture. Do you
understand? That’s why, what we must first say (In the language
Kannada):
Nanu nanembudu naanalla,
ee deha, mana, buddhi naanalla.
Sachinandatma, Shiva naanu nane,
Shivoham, Shivoham, Shivoham.
Whatever you address as ‘I’ is just an image, a picture of some event.
The event no longer exists, you have changed millions of times after
that, but you still think that you are that picture. You not only treat
yourself that way but you also treat others the same way. That person
also has changed long ago, but you cannot recognize it because the
picture in your memory is constant. The reality has changed, we are
living with images; we are living in Maya. In order to help us understand
this nature of Maya our wise ancestors gave us some hints. They said
that if you bathe in Ganga even once all your sins will be washed away.
How many times can you take a holy dip in a river? River is flowing
water. When you dip your leg in the water, it is one river and by the time

33
you dip your head it has become a different river! The water has flown
ahead already and by the time you come out of the water it is a different
river altogether. Water of any river is not the same as that of a lake.
Lake water is stagnant but river flows continuously. The only thing that
has remained constant from then to now is the name, ‘River Ganga’, but
the river is not a name, it is the flowing water. Now, can you bathe in
the river Ganga? If you understand this, all sins will drop off because
you understand that you too are not the same person. Sins are because
of the images in your head. The images are harmless it is your
identification with the images that is the problem, that is the root of
suffering and sin. The ‘I’ imagination of yours is the sin. The world
changes moment to moment, everything is changing. Once you
understand this, where is sin?
The world is momentary; your images are making it seem permanent.
What is the truth then? Waking state? Dreaming state? You can’t
differentiate between the waking and dreaming state. To wake you up
from the ‘waking state’ Shivaratri comes from the dreaming and waking
states to higher states of Consciousness. The one who is seeing these
waking and dreaming states is Parabrahma or Paramatma and Jivatma. The
only difference between Paramatma – that is Universal and Jivatma – that
is individual is bhrama or illusion. Paramatma never gets entangled into an
illusion unlike the Jivatma, in its forgetfulness of its true nature, starts
identifying with the body, mind and intellect. Once the individual drops
this illusion, he merges with the Universe.
Conscious experience of Bliss (of Brahman/Self - Brahmananda), which is
considered as the highest, is same as experienced in deep sleep. This
experience of bliss in deep sleep state is universal in nature, and is
experienced by one and all. However, you are not aware that the bliss is
because of the Self. Yatra supto na kanchana kamam kamayate’, there is no
desire in deep sleep. Desires arise in the mind when you see an object in
the world. However, in deep sleep the mind is silent hence there are no
desires arising in that state. You think that deep sleep is blissful because
there is nothing else! An analogy to further clarify the bliss in deep sleep
state, is when a distraught husband thinks that he is happy because his
my wife has gone out of station. That is negative happiness not positive
happiness; because the wife is not at home, the husband is happy.
Positive happiness is when you realize that your nature is bliss. Till you
realize that your nature is bliss, ignorance will not drop.

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Let us address ignorance now. What is the genesis of ignorance? The
source of the ignorance is in the waking state. You saw the world and
body, and said ‘I am the body’. Next, you enter into a dream state with a
mind loaded with impressions from the waking state. Lastly, you
experience deep sleep state without clearing the ignorance of your true
identity. You live with the ignorance and your accumulated impressions,
which is the reason for being caught in the wheel of birth and death, to
fulfil unfulfilled desires. The basic desire is to attain happiness and joy.
In your pursuit of fulfilling this basic desire, you frantically search for
happiness in the objects of the world, but no matter how many times
you come back into this world and what you do in this regard this desire
cannot be fulfilled as there is no happiness in the world. To realize this,
you may take couple of millions of lifetimes. Once you realize that
Ananda or Bliss is not outside but I myself am Anandaswaroopa (of the
nature of bliss), life becomes very easy.
Let me tell you the story of a deer to drive home this truth. A deer,
called Kasturi, lives in the Himalayas. A fragrant aroma emanates from
its stomach. The moment it wakes up, it inhales this fragrance and it
wanders around in search of this fragrance’s source and ends up being
famished and dying in the process of its search. It dies without realizing
that the source of the fragrance was inside its body. The same happens
to Jiva. Bliss is the nature of Jiva but the Jiva ceaselessly searches outside
for countless lifetimes. Ignorance originating in the waking state has to
be resolved in that state, through Jnana and Dhyana. Once ignorance is
resolved in the waking state, it never appears in the dream or deep sleep
state.
A Jnani has no ignorance that ‘I am the body, mind and intellect’ in
waking, dreaming or deep sleep state. Such a person who has realized
that his true nature is bliss, in all the three states, alone is called a Jnani. It
is not sufficient if you realize your true nature in the waking state;
liberation is not complete as the subconscious mind is still polluted.
Positive awareness of I am the ‘Self’ is required, and the Jnana of I am
not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect is also required in
all the three states of jagratha, swapna and sushupthi. Only then such a
person is called a Jnani or enlightened one. Such a state is also called as
muktha sthithi.
In deep sleep, Prajna or awareness has frozen and in waking (jagratha)
and dream (swapna) state the same Prajna manifests as the world. What

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you see in Jagratha and Swapna are projections of one’s mind. This world
appeared from your own mind. If you think there is a world apart from
you, you are mistaken. There is no world apart from your mind; the
mind itself has become Maya. Mind itself is appearing as the world, in
the waking and dreaming states. In deep sleep state because of the mind
being frozen, you cannot comprehend Jnana. Jnana has to blossom in the
waking state. Where there is a problem, there is a solution. The source
of the problem is the waking state and the solution is also in the waking
state!! The realization of the waking state has to propagate to the dream
state until the last shred of ignorance is dropped. When one attains
Jnana, Prajna becomes one with the Atma.

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Supreme Consciousness
एष सर्वेश्वरः एष सर्ववज्ञ एषोऽन्तयावम्येष योमनः
सर्ववस्य रभर्वाप्ययौ मि भूतानाि् ॥६॥
esha sarveshvarah esha sarvajna esho antaryamyesha
yonih sarvasya prabhavapyayau hi bhutanam ॥6॥
Verse 6
This is the Lord of All; the Omniscient; the Indwelling Controller; the
Source of All. This is the beginning and end of all beings.

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Sthula, Sukshma and Karana – gross, subtle and causal, are the three states
-corresponding to the waking dreaming and deep sleep state of human
beings. The awareness (Prajna) in these three states is like vapour, water
and ice. In waking state, awareness spreads like vapour when the mind
spreads out and we are able to experience the world. You see the same
awareness spreading everywhere as the world of gross objects. The mind
which is spread all over during waking state, goes inside in dreaming
state. The mind which was vapour in waking state becomes water in
dream state. Mind starts flowing like a river. River can flow where there
are grooves. Consciousness flows into the existing path, which are
nothing but memories in the dream state. In deep sleep it becomes
frozen like ice. You cannot see anything. This state where the mind is
frozen is called Prajna or Awareness.
esha sarveshvarah. He is the Lord of the whole universe. The whole
universe is his creation. Awareness has spread and become the world.
That awareness which is frozen in the deep sleep state is the Lord. The
Lord is not sitting somewhere far away, he is in you. He is in the causal
form. He is dwelling in you as Prajna and witnessing the world. He is
projecting the world from within you. You, as an individual, and all
bodies are born with that Awareness.
esha sarvajna. The Prajna which is solidified spreads out and that is what
we see as the world. When you switch on the light, you can see
everything in the room. In the same way when awareness spreads you
can see the world. It is awareness which spreads out and appears in the
form of the world. That is why the Lord is called Sarvajna - knower of
everything. Without awareness spreading you cannot know anything.
When awareness spreads, you see the world and understand the world.
If there is no awareness, there is no world. The awareness in us is the
Lord, when it spreads all over the world it is called universal knowledge
and when frozen it is called deep sleep. Awareness manifests in different
forms in the universe; Vishvam, Vishnur, Vashatkaraha. It emerged from
our inner awareness - the awareness spreads. The Lord is Jyothisham Jyothi
- the light of all lights. The light of the Lord is Koti Surya Samaprabha –
the light of millions and millions of Suns. The Sun is the brightest object
but can you see the Sun without your eyes? Now which light is greater,
the light of the Sun or the light of the eyes? Light of the eyes is greater
than the light of the Sun. The Consciousness of the eyes is called
Chakshu Devata and without this Consciousness operating we cannot see
the world. Therefore, the light of the eyes is greater than the light of the

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Sun. This is called discrimination or inequality - subtle is greater than
gross.
Now if your eyes are fine but your mind is somewhere else can you see
the Sun? No. Consciousness of the mind is greater than the
Consciousness of the eyes. The light of intellect is greater than the light
of the mind. The light of awareness or Chethana is greater than the light
of the intellect. If that awareness is not there, the intellect cannot
operate. The greatest of all lights is the light of awareness. Without
awareness there is nothing in the world. That awareness comes from
within us, spreads out and becomes Sarveshvara.
Lord is in the form of awareness in you. Krishna is in your heart means
Krishna is in the form of awareness in you. Krishna is called as Chitta
Chora, the one who stole the mind. When your awareness level increases
the mind is purified. When you are unaware there is Chitta - individual
Consciousness. Jesus said ‘The kingdom of Lord is in your heart.
‘Ishwaram Sarva Bhutanam Hrudaya Arjuna Tishtati’, said Krishna. ‘Ishwara
is in all the living beings’ heart in the form of Prajna’, said Krishna. Our
Satsang is called Atmajyothi Satsang –Prajna is the name given to our
Satsang. The name ‘Atmajyothi Satsang’ reminds everyone that the Light
of Awareness is the greatest light.
esho antaryamehe. The Lord is reflected as awareness from your intellect.
That is in me. He is within you. You search for the Lord all your life and
do not find him. You go on searching all over the world, in temples, in
Himalayas, in sky and you could not find him because he is in you as
Awareness. He is inside you as Atmajyothi, Light of the Self.
yonih sarvasya. The whole Universe is born out of him. The whole
Universe is born in that awareness. The one who created the Universe is
the Lord – the Awareness.
prabhavapyayau hi bhutanam. Animal kingdom is comprised of so many
different animals. Even those animals have come from that awareness.
There is a light within us, and that light is called as Atmajyothi, that light
is called Bhagavan or Krishna. The one who is in search of that light is a
Gopika. Everyone is a Gopika; everyone has a desire to see the Lord.
Krishna is said to have stolen the Gopikas heart, but his place is in the
hearts of Gopika. In this context, heart does not mean the biological
heart; it means the spiritual heart which is our intellect. The Lord is in

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the form of awareness in our intellect. ‘Lord has stolen the heart of
Gopika’ means the intellect of the individual has become one with
Awareness – the Atman.
An atheist Pandit once visited Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was
an intellectual and he logically proved to Shri Ramakrishna that God
does not exist. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa clapped in joy, when the
Pandit was justifying his logic that there was no God and the Pandit
thought that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was convinced and that he had
understood that God did not exist. After the Pandit concluded,
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa clapped again and said that the Great
Mother Kali had blessed the Pandit with such a great intellect!
A light bulb will always radiate light outwards; it can never see the
electricity inside. Fan can never understand that it is functional because
of the electricity. Similarly, the Lord is not in the outer world; he is in
the inner world. Whatever you see, is the glory of the Lord. The whole
Universe is an image of God.
Rabindranath Tagore is the greatest enlightened poet in the world. He is
a Jnani. He wrote Geetanjali - poetry of wisdom, which is an Upanishad.
You know Rishis like Valmiki, Vishvamitra but you do not know our
modern day Rishis. Rabindranath Tagore wrote his spiritual experiences
as a collection of spiritual poems – Geetanjali. Each poem in Geetanjali
expresses the highest spiritual truth. DV Gundappa’s “Manku Timmana
Kagga” is a poem in Kannada that teaches highest spiritual truths.
‘Manku’ means idiot, ‘Timma’ is the name of a person. That poetry
conveys the highest spiritual truth. What DVG wrote is an Upanishad in
Kannada. If you think that Upanishads are written only in Sanskrit, then
you are mistaken. Does God not know other languages? Rabindranath
Tagore always contemplated on God and nature. You know him as a
poet, you know him as an artist, but you do not know him as a spiritual
seeker. Geetanjali is his spiritual life. For Rabindranath Tagore, nature is
beautiful. Once he was sitting in a boat contemplating on beauty. At that
time there was no electricity, it was dark and he was reading a book
about beauty with a candle in his hand. The candle light was blown off
suddenly by wind. It was a full moon on that night and the moon light
illuminated the whole place despite the candle light being blown off. He
threw the book immediately and realized that he was reading about
beauty in a book with a candle light while the whole nature was so
beautiful. Due to the candle light you cannot see the beauty of nature.
What is that candle? It is the ego that I am the body, I am the mind, and

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I am the intellect. Your identification with the body, mind and intellect is
the candle that prevents you from seeing the beauty of nature.
Ego is preventing you from seeing the glory of the universe. Due to the
light of a single candle you cannot see the light of the moon. Once the
candle was turned off, Rabindranath Tagore forgot the book and he
started experiencing the nature in its true form, as it is and the poetry of
Geetanjali was born from that. The spiritual struggle, the inner conflict
of Rabindranath Tagore is beautiful. He struggles to understand God
and nature. Every spiritual tradition asks the seeker to drop the outer
and go inwards. Rabindranath Tagore says that everything outside is
beautiful, how can one leave it. The spiritual tradition says everything is
Maya, leave it and go inwards but he says that everything is glory of
nature. One day during winter he goes to a field. His Consciousness
explodes suddenly and he experiences oneness of the whole universe.
Every plant, animal living being is one part of the Consciousness called
God. The whole universe is a part of Chethana. This experience of
oneness is called Vishwa Rupa Darshana or Savikalpa Samadhi. The
devotees experience the Lord in the form of the whole Universe. When
you have deep devotion towards God, your Consciousness centre will
open up and you will experience that everything is God alone, this is
Savikalpa Samadhi.
In Nirvikalpa Samadhi there is nothing, Consciousness alone exists. This
is Mukti or liberation. The conflict between devotion and liberation is
what Rabindranath Tagore faced. Devotion is to see everything as the
Lord and liberation is to be the Lord. In devotion, the seer and the
Universe, the Bhakta and Bhagwan are separate. A devotee says that I am
different from God because he wants to enjoy and experience the joy of
God. A Jnani – wise one says everything is Bhagavan and there is nothing
else. In one of the poems Rabindranath Tagore says, ‘I am lost and I am
searching home; I found a home, if I knock at the door I can go inside
but once I enter the home I cannot see the world.’ He didn’t enter the
home. The home he was searching was Atman, he found and stood in
front of it; once he merges with Atman nothing will be left, no Universe,
nothing. When he merges with Bhagavan – Consciousness, he will realize
that everything is Consciousness. This was the dilemma of Rabindranath
Tagore. When there is separation there is beauty and drama; he is
attracted towards beauty and at the same time he wants to go back to the
source. This is the conflict of many Sadhakas. In Srimad Bhagavad Gita,
the Bhakti yoga is after Vishvarupa Darshana. When you can experience

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oneness of Lord and existence you will be filled with devotion or else
the Lord is an individual to you. The Lord is not individual he is
Universal. Rabindranath Tagore realized that everything is the Lord and
from that came the Geetanjali – The spiritual search and struggle of
Rabindranath Tagore.
Three astronauts went on a lunar mission. Two of them landed on the
moon and one person was inside the spacecraft. His Consciousness
expanded suddenly and he experienced that the stars, galaxies and the
entire universe was the form of Lord. He experienced oneness of the
whole universe. He was never the same person again. When he returned,
he started research on Consciousness and opened an Institute called
Consciousness Research Institute. He quit his job and spent his entire
life on research on Consciousness. This experience is called Savikalpa
Samadhi where your nervous system opens up, there are many centres in
the nervous system that are generally blocked. When those centres open
up, you experience oneness of the whole Universe as Consciousness -
This is called devotion (Bhakti), this is called love (Prema), this is what
the Gopikas experienced.
Rabindranath Tagore had a conflict that the world is so beautiful and if
you drop it there would be nothing except Chethana and many of our
people say that the world is Maya. Rabindranath Tagore came out with
his own solution to remove this conflict. He considered God as an artist
and the creation as his painting. For philosophers the creation is Maya,
for a poet saint like Rabindranath Tagore the creation is poetry and a
painting from God. He realized both, Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa.
Rabindranath Tagore is called the God of poetry; actually he wrote
poetry on God. He is a Jnani, a poet saint of India like D.V.Gundappa.
Savikalpa or Bhakti is saying that ‘I am a wave, a part of the ocean’ and to
feel happy about it. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is saying that ‘I am a part of the
ocean, both wave and ocean is water’ – This is Mukti. The water is
nothing but Parabrahma; the ocean is God; the wave is Jivatma. Realizing
that everything is a part of Consciousness is Savikalpa Samadhi and
realizing that there is nothing but Consciousness is Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

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Turiya, the fourth state
नान्तःरज्ञं न बमिष्रज्ञं नोभयतःरज्ञं न रज्ञानघनं न रज्ञं नारज्ञि् ।
अदृष्टिव्यर्विायवि ग्राह्यिलक्षणं अमचन्त्यिव्यपदेश्यिेकात्ि
रत्ययसारं रपञ्चोपशिं शान्तं मशर्वििैतं
चतुथं िन्यन्ते स आत्िा स मर्वज्ञेयः ॥७॥
nantah prajnam na bahish-prajnam nobhayatah-prajnam
na prajnanaghanam na prajnam na aprajnam ।
adrishtam avyavaharyam agrahyama lakshanam
achintyam avyapadeshyam ekatma pratyaya-saram
prapanch upashamam shantam shivam-advaitam
chaturtham manyante sa atma sa vijneyah ॥7॥
That is known as the fourth quarter: neither inward turned nor outward-
turned consciousness, nor the two together; not an undifferentiated
mass of consciousness; neither knowing, nor unknowing; invisible,
ineffable, intangible, devoid of characteristics, inconceivable, indefinable,
its sole essence being the consciousness of its own Self; the coming to
rest of all relative existence; utterly quiet; peaceful; blissful: without a
second: this is the Ātman, the Self; this is to be realised.

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Today, we are going to contemplate on the next part of Mandukya
Upanishad called Turiya. The state beyond waking, dreaming and deep
sleep state is called Turiya. It is really not a separate state; it is the
background of all the three states. For example, if there is no water,
there can neither be an ocean nor a wave. Without that awareness -
Turiya, there is no waking, dreaming or deep sleep state. The waking,
dreaming and deep sleep states appear in the form of waves in Turiya but
there is no change in Turiya. Just as nothing changes in the water, no
matter how many waves rise and fall in the ocean. The water is
Parabrahma – Narayana, who is resting peacefully. From Parabrahma or
Narayana, Vishnu and Lakshmi emerged and created the entire creation
and human beings. The human beings mind always wanders outside. If
that mind is focused on Parabrahma, creation ends and one attains Mukti.
Now we come to Pure Awareness or Narayana.
nantah prajnam na bahish-prajnaha. Atman neither has inner awareness or
mind nor outer awareness or world! Existence of ocean and wave does
not make any difference to the water, from the perspective of water it
alone exists. In the same way there is nothing inside nor outside for Pure
Awareness – Narayana, as Narayana alone exists!
na ubhaya prajnaha. He is neither aware of both. He is resting.
na prajnam dhanam. Has awareness frozen then? No, everything is water
which exists everywhere, and he is Pure Awareness.
adrushaym. You cannot see Parabrahma or Narayana, but you can become
one with him. You can become pure awareness but you cannot see pure
awareness. The mind cannot visualize Narayana, it can only imagine as
the mind needs a picture or an image of every object. Mind creates
Narayana, a big milky ocean and Narayana resting on that milky ocean.
That milky ocean is nothing but the pure mind full of Satva guna and
Narayana rests on it, drifting away from creation and creates Vishnu to
look after the whole Universe. Is Narayana awake or sleeping on the
milky ocean? He is in Yoganidra. One who has attained Nirvikalpa
Samadhi, one who has realized the Self will be in this state (Yoga Nidra)
in waking state. An enlightened being will always be, in that state of
Narayana, in his waking state.

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It is said Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwaraha. Guru
Sakshath Parabrahma Tasmayee Shree Guruvenamaha. One who has become
Parabrahma swaroopa is called as Sadguru. His Consciousness has merged
with Parabrahma and he is no longer an individual. Guru Sakshath
Parabrahma means that Sadguru’s Chethana has merged with Parabrahma
and the one who is here as Sadguru is Parabrahma himself. It is Parabrahma
who is operating through Sadguru’s body.
agrahyam. You can never touch him. It is like the bulb saying that I want
to touch electricity. Is it possible? Bulb can give light through electricity
but it can never see or touch electricity. When everything is emerging
from Parabrahma how can you see Parabrahma? The very closest form of
Parabrahma is Sadguru Darshana. One enlightened being is the closest you
can get to Parabrahma. But you cannot see Parabrahma.
avyahara. No business happens there. This means that you cannot
interact with Parabrahma.
Alakshanam. You cannot describe Parabrahma. All lakshanas
(characteristics) are for the mind. It is like the wave which can never
understand water, all wave can do is surrender and become water. To
understand Parabrahma or water, what we or wave can do is answered by
Sri Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita – Sarva dharma parithyajya mamekam sharanam
vraja Aham thvam sarva papebyo mokshayami mashrucham
Just as wave has to surrender to water, we have to surrender to Bhagavan
by understanding that I am not the body, I am not the mind and I am
not the intellect, I am a part of Bhagavan. This is surrender to God. Most
of the times surrender is misunderstood; whenever we face a problem
we surrender our problems to God! When all this is true how can
anybody write about Bhagavan? Unless Bhagavan writes about himself,
nobody can write about him. It is said that the tradition started with two
sources which again is a single source.
sadashiv samarambam. Parabrahma in the form of Sadashiva appeared and
taught yoga, Kashmiri Shaivism, Shiva Sutra, and Tantra. The Pure
Awareness communicated with the Universe.
The other source is Narayan Padmasambava. Narayana communicated this
to Brahma, Brahma in turn shared it with Rishis, Rishis taught this to
their disciples and they told Acharyas. This is the tradition that is going

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on even to this day. This wisdom is passed on from generation to
generation and in India no one says claims ownership, everyone admits
it as a teaching from their Guru; No one says ‘I did it’ in Sanatana
Dharma. That is the greatness of Sanatana Dharma. The source is
Parabrahma Narayana. The moment you say ‘I did it’, the mind comes
into picture. It is said that if anyone has to speak about Bhagavan he has
to become Bhagavan himself.
Enlightenment happens through an enlightened person. Without an
enlightened Guru there is no enlightenment, except in very rare cases.
Sadguru is the one who is already become one with Parabrahma. You will
get that light in the presence of Sadguru, from his life and teachings. You
cannot find awareness, you can get awareness. That is called grace.
Grace is not what you seek; grace is not what you find; grace is that
which finds you. Communication from a person who has seen light is
grace. A person who has seen the light and is helping a person in
darkness, to come out of darkness, is grace.
Dhyana mulam guror murthihi
Puja mulam guror padam,
Mantra mulam guror vakyam
Moksha mulam gurukrupa
The ego thinks that it will achieve something. It is not about achieving,
but it is all about dropping. Spirituality is oriented towards surrender.
You can’t know God; you can be God. You can merge with God.
apratyaya saram. Words cannot say about Bhagavan. Words are applicable
to world. Words can communicate with you about something that you
know, not about something that you don’t. Awareness cannot be
explained through words.
agrahyam. Words can be a pointer, words can show the direction to
awareness, but words cannot show awareness. Guru’s words point
towards Self.
prapanchopashamam. He is not in any of the three states; waking (Jagratha),
dreaming (swapna) and deep sleep (Sushupthi). The three states of
Consciousness; waking, dreaming and deep sleep is called the world. In
Turiya there is no world.

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Shantham. Deep silence and peace; God is absolute peace.
sa atma. He is Atma. He is the witness in all the three states. Meditate,
dis-identify, do not get involved, cultivate this habit to realise that you
are not the body, mind or intellect but you are pure Witness. Turiya –
when it sees the world, it is called Witness. When it just is, it is called
Parabrahma. Turiya witnessing the world is called Nirguna Brahman; Turiya
experiencing oneness of the whole universe is Saguna Brahman.
Let me tell you a story now. Once there was a great demon called
Hiranya Kashyapu, an epitome of desires! A person who is haunted by
deep rooted desires in the sub conscious mind even during sleep is
called Hiranya Kashyapu. His wife’s name was Kayadu. Sri Naradamuni
narrated Bhagavan’s stories to Kayadu when she was pregnant. The
child Prahalada, inside the womb, listened to these stories. Sri
Naradamuni was his Guru when he was in his mother’s womb.
Prahalada was a born Jnani. Prahalada began to chant ‘Om Namo
Bhagavate Vasudevayah’ soon after he was born. Prahalada said Vasudeva
is the one who is resident in all living beings; the whole Universe is the
living place of Bhagavan. Hiranya Kashyapu didn’t like this; he wanted
everyone to chant ‘Om Namo Hiranya Kashyapuve’. Who is this Hiranya
Kashyapu? We all say ‘I, I, I and I’. ‘I’ is more important to us than
Consciousness. The ego is Hiranya Kashyapu and the child Prahalada is
Bliss. Ego doesn’t like bliss because it loses its identity once there is
bliss. To suppress that bliss he threw him from the top of the mountain,
he dropped him in the sea, but bliss remained unaffected. Finally
Hiranya Kashyapu confronted Prahalada and asked him if Vasudeva was
in a pillar. Prahalada said yes and Hiranya Kashyapu broke the pillar.
Lord Narasimha came out of it. Hiranya Kashyapu had a boon that
nobody could kill him inside or outside; either in day or night; not with
any weapons; neither animal nor human being. To kill such a person,
the Lord had to appear in the form of Narasimha who is neither a
human being nor an animal. Narasimha killed Hiranya Kashyapu at dusk
when it was neither morning nor night; at the door step that was neither
inside the palace nor outside the palace. The pillar that Narasimha
emerged out of is the stone heart of human beings. Neither outside nor
inside means neither in waking state (outside) nor in the dreaming state
(inside) but in the state of meditation when the Consciousness is neither
outside nor inside, it is just Awareness. Narasimha’s nails represent
wisdom (Jnana) and Narasimha himself represents a Sadguru.

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How can any weapon kill ego? Ego bloats up with praise and shrinks
when hurt. Narasimha is neither Simha – animal characteristics, nor Nara
– human being. Sadguru in reality is not a human being; he has dropped
his human personality.
Turiya is thus explained in Puranas in the story of Hiranya Kashyapu
where ego is destroyed in Turiya state.
Mandukya Upanishad is an expansion and explanation of the meaning of
Omkara. Omkara represents Bhagavan, Parabrahma, both Saguna Brahman
and Nirguna Brahman. Omkara represents God, as identified and
perceived by humans, in any form and name as well as the formless. The
formless aspect of divinity is called Nirguna Brahman (Pure Awareness)
and the form aspect is called Saguna Brahman (Manifested world). Saguna
(perceivable world) and Nirguna (Pure Awareness) are the two aspects of
Consciousness. The one, who sees Saguna Brahman through this body
mind complex, is called Witness (Sakshi) that is also the form of Nirguna
Brahman, Pure Awareness. Nirguna Brahman, Sakshi and Saguna Brahman
are three forms of God or Consciousness; formless, form and witness.
Whereas the Supreme Reality - Parabrahma is the energy which includes
all aspects of Consciousness and everything beyond.
All the aspects of divinity are represented in this single syllable –
“Omkara”. That’s why Omkara is a sacred syllable. Hindus, Jains, and
Buddhists chant as Aum, Christians chant Amen whereas Muslims chant
as Ameen. As per the Upanishads; Omkara represents Bhagavan himself.
It represents the various dimensions of Consciousness.
Mandukya Upanishad’s greatness is in the fact that it helps us to
understand and experience Saguna, Nirguna, Sakshi and Parabrahma
aspects of Consciousness in our day to day and moment to moment
experience of life as lived in the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states.
Through Jagrath (waking), Swapna (dreaming) and Sushupthi (deep sleep)
states, contemplation and meditation of Omkara leads us to experience
the fourth or the higher state of Turiya or Samadhi State.

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Summary
सोऽयिात्िाध्यक्षरिोङ्करोऽमििािं पादा िािा
िािाश्च पादा अकार उकारो िकार इमत ॥८॥
so'yam atma adhyaksharam omkaro adhi-matram pada matra
matrash cha pada a-kara u-karo ma-kara iti ॥8॥
Verse 8
This identical Ātman, or Self, in the realm of sound is the syllable
OM, the above described four quarters of the Self being identical
with the components of the syllable, and the components of the
syllable being identical with the four quarters of the Self. The
components of the Syllable are A, U, M.

49
The eighth shloka is a summary of the previous seven shlokas. Omkara
itself is the form of Atma and Atma is Brahman. That is why we need to
contemplate and meditate on Omkara. All mantras begin with Omkara –
as a reminder that Omkara is the primordial sound which is the source of
the Universe and Existence. It is the one which sustains Existence and is
responsible for the dissolution of the manifest world.
Omkara has three alphabets, “A”, “U” and “Ma” Kara representing three
aspects of the Self – waking, dreaming and deep sleep and the
subsequent silence represents Turiya state. The sound produced by
chanting of Omkara, represents the manifest or Saguna Brahman and
silence following it represents the formless or Nirguna Brahman and
beyond. Omkara represents the entire creation and Consciousness
which is behind the creation. One who understands, contemplates and
meditates on all the aspects of Omkara understands everything about
spirituality and attains enlightenment!
There is always a gap between understanding and realization. Realization
happens only when you experience the understanding. Realization and
understanding can be illustrated with an atlas or map. An atlas provides
the exact location and understanding of a place in relation to the world.
Locating Switzerland on the map is different from travelling and
experiencing Switzerland as a country. Similarly, Omkara is the map,
with which you have to experience and realize Saguna Brahman and
Nirguna Brahman. Possessing, studying and staring the map do not lead
you anywhere. Similarly, just by chanting Omkara thousands of times
you cannot realize Brahman. The information and understanding about
Omkara should lead to inner transformation followed by realization
without which you will be studying and handling the map and not
travelling towards the destination
The greatness of Omkara is that if you really understand Omkara then
you understand everything there is in the Universe. Since everyone
cannot understand the truth embedded in the three alphabets of Omkara;
it is expanded as Gayatri Mantra with twenty four alphabets, which is
further expanded into four Vedas, Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and
Atharvanaveda. These four Vedas are expansion of Gayatri Mantra, which
has its origin in Omkara, and hence Gayatri is called ‘Veda Mata’. The
Vedas too are very complicated and difficult to understand, this created
a need for Panchamaveda (Fifth Veda) or Mahabharata. The knowledge
and wisdom of the Vedas is woven in Mahabharata, as stories about war

50
between Dharma and Adharma and Bhagavad Gita. All types of human
personalities are portrayed in the characters of Mahabharata. Read and
study this great epic and identify your own personality and then read the
Bhagavad Gita which is the essence of all the Vedas. You will be
elevated in this process.
Mahabharata is a psychological profiling; there are characters like Kamsa
and Duryodhana on one hand and Vidura and Uddava on the other.
Each character is a case study. Today, psychologists conduct research
and documents mental abnormalities as case studies. Mahabharata on
the other hand, is a study of both abnormal and the so called normal -
pathologically and clinically, and also the spiritually evolved. You should
read Mahabharata to find out who you are but, people read it to find out
who others are. It is not for somebody else rather it is for you to find
out who you are. Does your personality match that of Vidura? Or
Dharmaraya? Or Arjuna, who is in pursuit of victory and wealth, which
is why he is called Dhananjaya. Are you like him? Then there is Shakuni
who is very cunning. There are Gopikas who are epitomes of Bhakti,
Vidura for wisdom. You have to find out where you are to understand
yourself.
For those who cannot understand Omkara, Gayatri mantra or Vedas,
Mahabharata is a more detailed explanation. If one still cannot
understand any of these texts, there are eighteen Puranas that are detailed
explanation of spirituality. If you cannot understand any of those
scriptures or texts, I have one simple formula which I have shared earlier
as well.
Nanu nanembudu naanalla,
Ee deha, mana, buddhi naanalla.
Sachinandatma, Shiva naanu nane,
Shivoham, Shivoham, Shivoham.
The summary and essence of Omkara, the four Vedas, the
Panchamaveda or Mahabharata and the eighteen Puranas is that ‘I am
not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect, and I am pure
awareness’. There are many people who understand the concepts, who
can quote Vedas and Puranas but very few have the wisdom. ‘Ayam Atma
pravachanena labhyaha’, ‘The Atma is not experienced by lectures and
discourses’ is the proclamation. A devotee doesn’t bother about the
logical or philosophical aspects of spirituality and the one who bothers

51
about logical and philosophical aspects of spirituality does not bother
about Bhagavan. They analyse how to use logic or philosophical system
on somebody else and prove that he is right and the other is wrong.
Consciousness is not a subject of logic.
A devotee’s mind gets purified by praising the Lord and his qualities.
You become that what you think of constantly. Even features and
profiles of couples who have been married for many years look similar.
If you see the twenty fifth wedding anniversary photographs of any
couple, you will observe that both husband and wife look similar
because the wife has been thinking about the husband for all these years
and the husband has been thinking about his wife. Their body language,
lifestyle becomes alike. Why not think about something good then?
Contemplate and meditate on the higher and divine qualities of Bhagavan.
Why are you wasting your time thinking about trivial things? When I
attend social events I am expected to indulge in small talk and socialize
with people, but there is nothing to talk. So I have found one solution, I
carry a copy of Bhagavad Gita with me. If somebody wants to talk to me
they ask me about the book I am carrying and I can begin to speak
about Bhagavad Gita. Now I don’t need to carry Bhagavad Gita, the
moment they see me, they talk about Bhagavad Gita.
Guru Nanak, a great realized soul, lived in the fifteenth and sixteenth
century. He was constantly thinking of Bhagavan. He had one disciple
called Mardhana. Guru Nanak used to sing in praise of the Lord and
Mardhana used to play musical instruments. They didn’t know how
much time they were spending contemplating about Bhagavan. It is
actually very enjoyable if you really sing bhajans, prayers, praise the
higher qualities of Bhagavan, you won’t realize how time flies! That is
what is called Satsang. Once, after one such satsang Mardhana and Guru
Nanak were packing their instruments when they heard a frog croaking.
Mardhana then asked Guru Nanak what the frog was saying and Guru
Nanak said that the frog is calling its beloved Bhagavan. Bhajans purify
the mind. Constantly thinking about Bhagavan purifies your mind;
constantly chanting of names of God purifies your mind, keep telling
about Bhagavan your mind becomes purified.
On another occasion, when Guru Nanak was around thirty years, by
which time his mind had become very pure by singing bhajans and
prayers Nanak and Mardhana went to take a bath in a river at a place
called Sultanpur, which is in current Pakistan. The sound of the flowing

52
river sounded like Omkara to his purified mind. As he stepped into the
river he entered into a state of Samadhi, the fourth state of
Consciousness called Turiya. He was immersed in bliss and came out of
it after three days. The first words he uttered when he came back after
three days were, ‘Ek Naam Omkara’. Omkara is the name of that God
who is beyond time. Guru Nanak realized Omkara and became a Jnani.

53
Benefits of Understanding – Phala Shruthi
जागररतस्थानो र्वैश्वानरोऽकारः रथिा िािाऽऽप्तेरामदित्त्र्वाद्
र्वाऽऽप्नोमत ि र्वै सर्वावन् कािानामदश्च भर्वमत य एर्वं र्वेद ॥९॥
jagarita-sthano vaishvanaro akarah prathama matra
apteradimat tvad va apnoti ha vai
sarvan kaman adish cha bhavati ya evam veda ॥9॥
Verse 9
Vaiśvānara, whose field is the waking state, is the first sound, A, because
this encompasses all, and because it is the first. He who knows thus,
encompasses all desirable objects; he becomes the first.
स्र्वप्नस्थानस्तैजस उकारो मितीया िािोत्कषावत्
उभयत्र्वािोत्कषवमत ि र्वै ज्ञानसन्तमतं सिानश्च भर्वमत
नास्याब्रह्ममर्वत्कुले भर्वमत य एर्वं र्वेद ॥१०॥
svapna sthanas thaijasa u-karo dvitiya
matrotkarshat ubhayatvad utkarshati ha vai
jnanasantatim samanash cha bhavati
nasya brahmavit kule bhavati ya evam veda ॥10॥
Verse 10
Taijasa, whose field is the dream state, is the second sound, U, because
this is an excellence, and contains the qualities of the other two. He who
knows thus, exalts the flow of knowledge and becomes equalised; in his
family there will be born no one ignorant of Brahman.

54
सुषुप्तस्थानः राज्ञो िकारस्तृतीया िािा मितेरपीतेर्वाव
मिनोमत ि र्वा इदं सर्वविपीमतश्च भर्वमत य एर्वं र्वेद ॥११॥
sushupta sthanah prajno ma-karas trutiya
matra mitera-piterva minoti ha va
idam sarvam api itish cha bhavati ya evam veda ॥11॥
Verse 11
Prājña, whose field is deep sleep, is the third sound, M, because this is
the measure, and that into which all enters. He who knows thus,
measures all and becomes all.
अिािश्चतुथोऽव्यर्विायवः रपञ्चोपशिः मशर्वोऽिैत
एर्विोङ्कार आत्िैर्व संमर्वशत्यात्िनाऽऽत्िानं य एर्वं र्वेद ॥१२॥
amatrash chaturtho avyavaharyah prapancho pashamah
shivo'dvaita evam omkara atmaiva sam vishatyatmana
atmanam ya evam veda ॥12॥
Verse 12
The fourth is soundless: unutterable, a quieting down of all relative
manifestations, blissful, peaceful, non-dual. Thus, OM is the Ātman,
verily. He who knows thus, merges his self in the Self – yea, he who
knows thus.

Cosmic Sound (Based on Mandukya Upanishad) by Sri Prabhuji

Cosmic Sound (Based on Mandukya Upanishad) by Sri Prabhuji

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